August 30, 2011 11:18 PM CDTAugust 31, 2011 02:42 AM CDTGosselin: Why A&M can contend this season — and in the SEC, too

Gosselin: Why A&M can contend this season — and in the SEC, too

2/13

JOHN F. RHODES / Staff Photographer

Game 1: Sept. 4 vs. SMU at College Station, 6:30 p.m. The Aggies begin 2011 with lofty expectations, the likes of which have not been seen in Aggieland since the late 90s. In the team's opener, it welcomes in old Southwest Conference rival SMU to Kyle Field for a Sunday night showdown. Though June Jones and his potent offense will present some early problems to an Aggie defense replacing Von Miller and Michael Hodges, look for the A&M offense to take over in the second quarter behind a strong rushing attack. And look for the A&M defense to get some pressure on Kyle Padron and force some turnovers in a double-digit Aggie victory. Texas A&M, 38-20

Veteran coach Mike Sherman has won in the NFL, in the Big 12 and will in the future, too

Bear Bryant should be a source of inspiration to Texas A&M as the Aggies prepare for a future in the SEC.

Bryant proved that quality coaching can succeed in any conference. He won big at Texas A&M in the Southwest Conference, then won bigger at Alabama in the SEC.

That’s a reason to be bullish on Texas A&M this fall in the Big 12 and in future seasons when the Aggies step up in competition in the SEC. Texas A&M has a quality coach in Mike Sherman who can take the Aggies where they want to go.

The proof is in his game tapes. As the football adage goes, the film doesn’t lie.

In 2002, Sherman’s Green Bay Packers traveled to New England to play the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots. Tom Brady was the trigger of the AFC’s best passing attack, averaging more than 300 yards per game. The Packers limped into Foxborough that day minus three defensive-backfield starters because of injury.

Green Bay was forced to line up a secondary with one player signed off the streets that week, another promoted from the practice squad and another making just his eighth career start.

So Sherman crafted a game plan that called for pass-happy Brett Favre to spend the afternoon handing the ball off, controlling the clock and protecting an overmatched pass defense. The Packers won in a shocker, 28-10.

In 2000, when Minnesota captured the NFC Central in Sherman’s first season as an NFL head coach, his Packers swept the two-game season series from the Vikings. In 2001, when Chicago won the NFC Central, the Packers swept the Bears that season as well.

Clearly Sherman has the know how to beat football’s best teams — and he’ll see plenty of “best” teams in the SEC in Alabama, Auburn, Florida and LSU.

In all, Sherman spent six years as a head coach in the NFL. He strung together five consecutive winning seasons from 2000-04 before faltering at 4-12 in 2005. That one losing season cost him his job. He left the Packers with a winning percentage of 59.4 — better than that of Bill Parcells, Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan.

Sherman also enjoyed better coaching success at the game’s highest level than did SEC icons Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier. Both spent two failed seasons in the NFL before sprinting back to college campuses. Bobby Petrino didn’t last a single season in the NFL before bolting for Arkansas.

Sherman won three consecutive NFC North titles in Green Bay and fielded four playoff teams in his first five seasons. The man can coach. Now Green Bay’s loss is A&M’s gain.

Sherman overcame a credibility-rocking home setback to Arkansas State in his A&M debut in 2008 plus two losing seasons at the outset of his tenure with the Aggies. Then he gave A&M a glimpse of its future in 2010 when the Aggies rolled over Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska on the way to a 9-4 finish.

Sherman now has four recruiting seasons in the books to stock the A&M roster with his players of choice. Coaching and talent equals expectation — and the Aggies are oozing with all three this fall. Texas A&M has been pegged as one of the 10 best teams — No. 8 in The Associated Press poll — in the nation in the preseason polls.

Sherman’s presence should translate into achievement. That will give the Aggies a chance in the SEC.

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About Rick Gosselin

MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE ON THE JOB:
Sitting at the hotel bar with Jerry Jones that night in Orlando, Fla., in March 1994 when he decided he'd had enough of Jimmy Johnson as coach of the Cowboys.

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME:I played hockey for a media all-star team in Detroit and once scored a goal against the Detroit Red Wings Old-Timers in a charity game at Olympia. As a high school player, I once scored a hat trick in a game at the Olympia. Love those "Original Six" buildings.

IF I HAD TWO SPARE HOURS, I WOULD:Take a golf lesson and learn how to hit a driver.

MOST MEMORABLE SPORTING EVENT I'VE COVERED:Impossible to pick just one, so I'll give you five, in no particular order:
- 1, My first Super Bowl - X between the Cowboys and Steelers.
- 2, 1983 NCAA basketball championship game between North Carolina State and Houston.
- 3, 1984 Orange Bowl between Miami and Nebraska.
- 4, 1971 baseball All-Star Game in Detroit, where all the future Hall of Famers homered and Reggie Jackson banged one off the light tower.
- 5, Speedskater Bonnie Blair's world-record sprints at 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
- Honorable mention: Troy Aikman's first college start as a freshman at Oklahoma against Kansas. (He lost.)

Hometown: Detroit

Education: Graduated from Michigan State in 1972, then spent two years working news for United Press International in Detroit, two years working for UPI sports in New York, nine years working as UPI's Midlands sports editor in Kansas City, four years as Chiefs/NFL beat reporter for the Kansas City Star, two years as Cowboys writer for The Dallas Morning News and 12 years as the NFL writer for The News.